True Life

We continue talking through stories of people who made big health changes, and why. In this episode we cover breast implant illness, having the consummate dad bod, weight loss after a child called her fat, aching knees and hips from weight, quitting tobacco, afib, and type 2 diabetes.

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I wanted to hear from people who have made significant health improvements and what their catalyst was. I asked listeners to share their health accomplishments. I asked to hear from people who were out of shape and possibly ill...and got fit and healthy, and what was the catalyst for them. What triggered them to finally make change and commit to it? Dr James and I talked through comments that included, chronic back pain and back injury, weight gain due to health problems and medication, committing to health due to responsibility to family, and not wanting to be a future burden to family, spinal surgery recovery, and family history of heart attacks. The discussion was rich on what caused these folks to take big action on their health and we didn’t get to half the responses and will continue in the next episode. This should give many of some significant inspiration and equipping, to make any big changes you may be looking for in your health and wellness.

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There is a culprit draining your energy. Anxiety. And here’s the deal, you do have anxiety. You are on the spectrum. Our effort is to help you understand this so you can work to mitigate it. In our culture today we know pesticides have gotten into all our foods. We can’t escape it, it permeates our entire country at this point. Same with anxiety. We live amongst it and can’t avoid it, even if we don’t feel we worry about much. We’re finding people are so often feeling drained by day’s end and they aren’t aware of the role the anxiety of our culture plays in our lives. In this episode we get it on the table and discuss mitigation.

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We talk candidly about me just going through coronavirus, I think for the second time though I did not get tested the first time. The realities of dealing with it and admitted humbling it has had on me. Then we also discuss the vaccine. I ran a survey asking who was and was not getting it and with 140 responses it was almost right down the middle. Dr James and I do not tell you our opinion but ultimately come to feeling the topic is very similar to the tenets of functional medicine, in that if you ask what is the best diet or exercise or health regime, the answer is, “It depends.” On the vaccine what is most interesting is the cultures need to polarize and be so definite, even when some of the top notch health experts, doctors and scientists that Randy looks to are split on the issue themselves. The anxiety and division the topic is causing may very well be far more detrimental to the culture and your own health than the issue in and of itself. But we really strive to do justice to this issue of the vaccine.

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Let’s talk about snacking at night. Specifically with ice cream. I have on the show, Sean Folkson, the founder of Nightfood, a better, healthier, and more sleep friendly ice cream. I’m not advocating eating ice cream late at night, but as you’ll hear in the show, the concept is, if you’re going to anyway, at least make it a better option. Randy and I often talk about us all being creatures of our appetites, and we won’t squelch that. Trying to leads to failure. But let’s upgrade them. That’s why I have Sean on the show and he simply felt like if he was going to indulge anyway, could he make it less harmful? More than ice cream we simply discuss the realities of our own humanity and our efforts to make better decisions, even if it’s a less offensive ice cream than Ben & Jerry’s or Haagen Daz. I generally try not to eat after dinner, but if I do, I strive for the healthiest thing I can to appease my appetite. I think you’ll find some comfort in this show...about comfort food. We’re seeking health, we’re not seeking to deprive ourselves of every pleasure! Find Sean and his tasty treats at nightfood.com

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How to run. Specifically, how to run without injury and keep running into old age. We’re advocating running simply because it’s one of the easiest exercises that can be done nearly anywhere and anytime with little to no equipment required. So many people who would run however, do not. Even those who used to at an elite level. The reason? Aches and pains. We’ve gotten to where it’s the norm to stop running earlier in life and try to find an exercise with less impact. I had that as my own story. I did a 2 hour run on Father’s Day about five years ago. It was glorious. Except for the pain in my hip and back. Then Randy and I got a hold of some new information. Today we both run pain free. It’s not a promise for you, but it sure is a great hope.

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When your phone or computer is always on, always running multiple programs, it gets bogged down. We often power it down and reboot. As humans we get this. We seek relief and rest. But now think about upgrading the operating system on your phone. You shut down every program, power the phone down, then allow the operating system to be updated and upgraded. This often takes a while longer. When we keep running the same programs of our life without ever taking a break and further to allow new information to come in and take root, we miss the possibility of a real upgrade. In this episode Dr Randy James and I talk about the primary roles in our lives and the concept of backing off from them for a time. A day. A week. Taking in new information and taking time to consider our desires. Then coming back with an upgrade. Think about this in terms of your job. The work you do. Being a spouse. A parent. Being a homeowner who is continually keeping up with everything. I recently took an extended break from almost all of it, but we cover ideas to experience this benefit regardless of your situation.

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Something we all have to a degree is trauma. Which is simply a distressing or disturbing experience. The reality is our past traumas, especially in our early upbringing, latch on and often negatively affect our health. Tana Amen is a New York Times bestselling author, a neurosurgical ICU trauma nurse, a world-renowned health and fitness expert, and she and her husband Daniel Amen run the revolutionary Amen Clinics. We brought Tana on because she had significant trauma from birth into young adulthood. Significant trauma. We talk about her personal experience in mitigating the negative effects to her health, combined with her’s and Daniel’s studies, research, and testing on the brain’s ability to change and grow. Trauma is a primary culprit in our fight for wellness that generally goes untended to. We’re going to tend to it, here.

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How to breathe. Isn’t that odd. I, like you, figured I knew how. For 50 years I’ve been breathing air in and continuing to live. I was a pro cyclist and seemed to breathe pretty proficiently. What more do I need to know? Turns out there is a lot to know if we want to be fully functioning. In this show Dr James and I discuss the message of the book, Breath, by James Nestor. Here is a big hook of the message that may intrigue you as it did me, our nose is not simply for smelling. It is for breathing through. Our mouth is for food. When we use our mouth for breathing instead of our nose, especially at night, there are negative consequences. You’ll learn much in this show and even the simple awareness of correct breathing will benefit you tremendously. 

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Food is like money. We can’t do without it. Food is not good or bad. So we either have a good and healthy relationship with it and invest wisely, or we have a poor relationship with it and it’s a thorn in our side. We are losing the war with food in America and in this show we highlight a reality of our true and real addiction with food. All of us are on the spectrum. We can’t stop eating, so what do we do? First we get aware of our individual issues then work to manage them. This is not a call to abstain from food or from food you like. It’s not a quest to take away your joy and pleasure from food. Food truly is life. The issue is whether we are in control of it or it is in control of us. The difference is everything and this episode is meant to empower you to be in control, even as you not only get great joy from your food but even more. What we are realizing is to have the health, wellness, and physical and mental capacity we desire we must start by establishing a healthy relationship with our food. 

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